Thacher Park Trail Running Festival5K · 10K · 13.1M · 26.2M · 50K

The Thacher Park Trail Running Festival is all about being on the trails for as long as or little as you would like. The event offers five race distances: 5K, 10K, 13.1M, 26.2M, and 50K. The event debuted on September 13, 2014 in conjunction with the Thacher Park Centennial Festival. In 2015, we expanded the event to use more of the park's trails providing even more opportunity to see all that the park has to offer. The event is held in conjunction with the Albany Running Exchange's Club Day. In addition to the five main races, there is also a half mile kids race held as part of ARE Club Day.

There will be prizes for the top 3 male and female finishers in each race.
Place:

Custom Event Print

Custom Event Print

All finishers in the Marathon and 50K receive finisher medals.

Your entry also includes food all day (pancakes in the morning followed by a BBQ in the afternoon) as well as on-course water and other supplies (applicable to the longer races.)

The Albany Running Exchange & Club Day

The Albany Running Exchange (ARE) is a 1,000 member running club in the Capital District that hosts and supports many trail and road running events all throughout the year. A great way to check out the courses used at the Thacher Park Trail Running Festival is to join the ARE for their Summer Trail Run Series (STRS), a weekly non-race running event that spans from May to August.

The ARE's Annual Club Day is all about getting club members together to do something fun that involves other activities aside from running. Club Day activities include a kids race, team challenges (egg tosses, bat spins, puzzle races, etc.), and food.

Event Management & Timing

The Thacher Park Trail Running Festival is managed by ARE Event Productions, Inc., an event management and timing company that puts on many events at Thacher Park and area trails. Registration is done through ZippyReg, a subsidiary of ARE Event Productions.

Inspired by Walt Whitman's poem Song of the Open Road, the Long Path's creators first conceived of it as an unmarked trail that would connect New York City to the Adirondacks.
Today, the 350-mile hiking trail stretches from the 175th Street Subway Station to John Boyd Thacher State Park near Albany.
Relatively unknown, only 119 people had completed the full length of the trail when ultrarunner Kenneth A. Posner set out to accomplish the feat in record-setting time in 2013.
As Posner ran, walked, hiked, scrambled, stumbled, and limped down the trail he felt a unique connection to the stunning natural beauty of the region.
Running the Long Path is not only the story of his incredible endurance feat, but also a celebration of the deep historical significance of New York's Hudson Valley.

Course

Course Descriptions

All races at the Thacher Park Trail Running Festival start and finish at the exact same location: Horseshoe II Pavilion. Additionally, all races start together at the same time (8:30 AM) with a loop around the grass field between Horseshoe II Pavilion and Route 157 before heading out to the trails on the 'north' side of the park (towards Hailes Cave Pavilion.) All runners are together through about 2K, where the 5K runners turn left while all other runners go straight.

The 10K, 13.1M, 26.2M, and 50K all run the first 6 miles together. At 6M, the three longer races go left to run along the escarpment trail, while the 10K runners bare right to head towards the finish area.

The 13.1M, 26.2M, and 50K continue on to the 'south' side of the park and complete a loop there. All three of these races run through the finish area at 13.1M.

The 26.2M and 50K runners then repeat the entire course again. The 26.2M and 50K runners come through the finish at 26.2M, with the 50K runners then going back out for a 4.9 mile loop.

26.2M Course - The 13.1M Course Twice

Water/Aid Station Information

Water and cups are available at all locations below.
Feel free to also bring your own water bottle/favorite hydration device to fill up.
Tailwind is available at locations A, C, D, G, H. These are the full service aid stations, which also include gels, chips, pretzels, oranges, and more.

Loop

Miles

A*End of Hailes Cave Rd

B^Ryan Road

C*-Same spot as A-

D*Paint Mine Lot

E^Beaver Dam Rd

F^Hop Field Trl

G*-Same spot as D-

H*Finish Area

1

0-13.1m

0.75m

3.75m

5.5m

7.5m

8.5m

10.75m

12.0m

13.1m

2

to 26.2m

14.0m

17.0m

18.5m

20.5m

21.5m

24.0m

25.0m

26.2m

3

to 50K

(Not on this final loop)

28.0m

(Not on this final loop)

30.0m

Done

*Full Service Aid Station (See above)
^Primitive Stop - Unstaffed location; just water jugs for those with bottles.

The Long Path

Escarpment Views

Roots & More Roots

Wide Paths

The Hang Glide Cliff

Single Track

Register

Be part of the excitement! And yes, you can register the day of the event, but save some money and register today! :) Albany Running Exchange members receive a $5 discount on any race at this event when registering through the ARE member registration system.

Sponsors

GU

Tailwind

Wholefoods

We'd also like to thank Camp Bow Wow and Orange Theory Fitness for attending.

Volunteer

The Thacher Park Trail Running Festival is ever grateful for the volunteers who make the event happen. If you, your friends, and/or your family are looking for a great way to give back to the community all while spending the day at one of the Capital District's wonderful parks, we encourage you to help out in any capacity that you can. Please use the link below to sign-up for a volunteer shift and duty.